The 4th Trimester

The 4th trimester or “sitting month” is about the first 40 days after your baby is born. It’s the time to rest, heal and bond with your new baby. It’s also the trimester that no one really talks about but is incredibly beneficial to both you and your child. Think about it – you just pushed a baby out of you know where or had it removed from you via C-section. You also now have a small child who you just met that you are to take care of. Pair that with all of the hormones surging through you and this newfound love that you’ve never experienced before. Yea, you need a minute.

There is a great book called The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother that is a wonderful resource and outlines this process beautifully. It also includes a list of nourishing foods and recipes to help heal and repair your body. (admittedly I consulted the list and ordered take out more than I actually made food).

Doing our 4th trimester gave me a chance to heal and for he and I to really develop our bond and get to know one another. Instead of rushing into a list of “shoulds” or feeling like I was letting people down by not being back to normal activities we took our time and because we did I was able to naturally know when I was ready to do things. I’d wake up one day and think “It would be nice to take a walk around the block” so we would but not one second before I felt ready to do that or whatever else it was. After the 40 days were done sure enough I felt more whole, complete and ready to reemerge back into the world.

I know that a full 40 isn’t necessarily available to everyone especially if you have multiple kids but any time you can give yourself to really recoup, repair and reintegrate is beneficial even if only a few hours a day. You have your whole life to rush around. Why not savor these first precious moments (and let your vagina come back together;))